Great Ocean Road - Sept 4

On Tuesday morning, we awoke in our motel at the back of a bar. We split the date/fig bar because we had a couple long drives. I made a bit of a mistake when planning our hotels - thankfully, the Great Ocean Road is about 4.5 hours from tip to tail, and we had 3 days to explore it.

So, on Day 2 of the Great Ocean Roadtrip, we started in Apollo Bay, which is about halfway. Then we went backwards (east), and thus got to see everything we passed in the dark last night.

I was still on the righthand side of the car, so instead of cliff faces, I now got to watch the ocean! ...and cars barreling past that I perceived to be too close for comfort.

Thankfully, we pulled off into what looked like a campground to drive up and into the Kennett River park. Here, we had heard, was where to find koalas (and wallabies!)

There were quite a few roads going off in a variety of directions. Turns out, the road we wanted was Grey River Road - a gravel path that winds up into the forest. Finding the signpost directing our way, we now were going to see those koalas!

The first koala was tucked into a fork in the trees. Because the trees were so close, I was getting a neckache from staring upward - so I leaned my chair all the way back so I could look at the treetops while Mark drove slow.

The next koala ran across the road! Then a wallaby just stared at us from the green hillside that turned into trees. We ended up seeing five koalas and three wallabies - a great haul! We had passed some people hiking the trail/road, which made me a bit guilty at our laziness. However, with only a few days, sometimes the hours are precious.

Giddy from the real Australian wildlife (oh, I didn't mention the white cockatiels also majestically sitting in branches), we continued going east. We had pizza and garlic bread from the night before, so that satisfied us for a bit as we went to hike to Sheoak Falls.

With the parking lot at an inward bend in the road, we hiked up a river bed. It started as boardwalk and stairs - we were against a hill, so I suppose it makes sense that the trail went up, then down, then up again. Inset in the rock were single-person caves - seemed like an ancient place (except for the easy wooden trail.)

At the end of the trail was water falling over a dark, slate-like rock. I don't remember the water temperature clearly, but I think it wasn't gasping cold when we dipped our hands in. We poked around a couple of the trails to see a few different angles of Sheoak Falls before heading back.

We stopped at Lorne, and at that point I learned that the white cockatiels that impressed me so much at Kennett River were a dime a dozen. We stopped in a wine shop briefly to taste, had some burgers at Bottle of Milk (and had to have a shake!), then walked into the park by Lorne Beach to see some locals with their dogs.

After an hour or two enjoying Lorne, we drove along to Erskine Falls. It was steps down to the lookout, and I got to "bag" my second waterfall of the day.

With that, it was time to drive. Again, because I had essentially booked us hotels a little farther along the road than we actually got each day, we started the nearly three-hour drive along the Great Ocean Road. We pulled off a few times to capture the views (and let Mark soak it in, since he was driving.) Though we saved time tomorrow for the Twelve Apostles, we also got there at sunset, so couldn't help taking a few pictures.

We got to Warrnambool early enough to walk around the park as the sun was setting (a park that included quite a few water features, as well as some geese). We both tried the terrifying zipline that seemed a bit too much for a children's park - even though I was turning 30 the next day, still young enough for fun!

Speaking of, it was time to check in to my birthday treat - Deep Blue Hotel & Spa in Warrnambool.

We had just enough time at check-in to spend time at the spring. The highly mineral water was captured in a pool. It was opaque, so we felt our way around the 4 ft pool to find chairs and benches that were under water. After soaking for a bit and getting too warm, we jumped into the "chill pool" - cold fresh water - then back to the mineral bath.

An hour or so of that (also, because we got in about an hour before they closed), and we went back upstairs to order from room service. I had a sweet potato gnocchi that was so good, especially with the bottle of Tatalia Australian wine! I (re)introduced Mark to "Jukebox the Ghost", a band I've enjoyed for a few years, then we went to bed, cozy and nourished.